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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23256223">and they were soulmates!! wait, soulmates exist?!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/trueaguero/pseuds/trueaguero'>trueaguero</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Lesbian Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Pansexual Eleven | Jane Hopper, Rated T for swearing, el appears second chapter, gonna be a short fic just gimme a sec to update, max doesn't know shes gay yet, max says fuck a lot, soulmate au but it's rlly subtle, st3 lumax never happens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:41:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23256223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/trueaguero/pseuds/trueaguero</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>in which max mayfield realizes she's a gay disaster and jane hopper is her soulmate</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eleven | Jane Hopper &amp; Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Maxine "Max" Mayfield &amp; Lucas Sinclair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and they were soulmates!! wait, soulmates exist?!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If Maxine Mayfield knew one thing about life, it was that fairy tales were just that: fairy tales. She remembered, vividly, somewhere in that era of life where you’re too small to know what age you were, she made another girl cry. In the early days of December, she’d frowned at them and told them Santa wasn’t real. She’d said that it was only her parents taking pity on her that she was still getting presents. </p>
<p>Then, she’d scoffed and said that even if Santa was real, there’s no way he would ever give anything but coal to her, because Santa would be all-knowing and would know every little thing you did wrong. </p>
<p>She burst out crying and said she wouldn’t be getting any presents either, but that didn’t matter to Maxine. She’d never gotten presents anyways. </p>
<p>Growing up in LA was frustrating. Her dad was an actor - and a shitty one at that. Her “friends” - God know how she found them, of all people, to hang out with - were obsessed with ‘40s Disney princess and soulmate movies, which, to Max, were the shittiest of all movies. She was relieved every time the guys would let her hang out with them, rolling down hills on their skateboards and doing ollies all day long. The sun always felt hottest on those days, the sky as brilliant a blue as ever. The palm trees, looking down, mocking. She wished sometimes they’d just drop their bark on her head so that would be that. </p>
<p>Her mom hated it when she came home with scraped knees and elbows and sunburnt cheeks. She’d frown and tut and remind her to “Hang out with those lovely little princesses instead of the rough boys, alright?” And she’d go to her room without a word to clean up, make it look like it never happened. Because if her dad saw, it would be so much worse. </p>
<p>She didn’t like to think about the days her dad saw. </p>
<p>Her dad landed a role in one of those soulmate movies, once. Of all the fairy tales, Max hated the ones about soulmates the most. If soulmates were real, then her mom wouldn’t be married to such a dirtbag. But, no - all the girls and boys of the world made it up to be something fanciful, for all the princesses and princes of the world. You only had a soulmate if you were rich and white. If soulmates could be excluded to just men, it would be, but of course - a man and a woman, it had to be. The picture-perfect show of heterosexuality and the norm.</p>
<p>Max didn’t really understand back then why it made her so angry. The thing is, soulmates did exist. But they were so rare that they might as well be a myth. Yet, all of her girl friends were convinced that they would have a soulmate, and that they really were quite common, and people just kept it to themselves to feel special - there’s no outward obvious signs, of course! </p>
<p>They played so many guess-who games, of who might be soulmates and who definitely weren’t. They analyzed each and every celebrity couple. Every hot white man. </p>
<p>Max was getting real tired of this shit. </p>
<p>“Maxine!” One of her friends exclaimed, just as Max was ready to doze off again into her hand. It was lunch break, seventh grade. </p>
<p>“Isn’t that your dad?” The girl - Sarah, that was her name - said excitedly. Max looked down, bored. It was the tiniest image she’d ever seen of him, his face in the very corner of the new Soulmate movie ad. Huh. That was out already: there was a review and everything. </p>
<p>“Yeah,” Max said, bored. </p>
<p>“Oh my god!” Sarah exclaimed, the other girls clamoring in around her in excitement. “That’s so cool! Your dad is in, like, one of the coolest movies ever!” </p>
<p>Max pursed her lips, looking down at the photo again. “Yeah, I guess,” she mumbled, her eyes latching onto the photo of her dad. Wide jaw, flat nose. Fat lips. Buzzcut. Blue eyes. “He doesn’t play a main role or anything. Just, like, the guy’s friend.” </p>
<p>“Hardly! He has, like, thirty minutes of screentime! Man, I can’t wait to see it!” </p>
<p>Max shrugged. “Yeah.” </p>
<p>A day later, Max gave them free movie tickets and made up an excuse she can’t come because she’s sick. That night, she hit up the local arcade and played until closing, alone. </p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>There had been a fight in the house. </p>
<p>Her parents had screamed at each for hours, and Max had cowered in her room with her headphones shoved over her head, blasting indie grunge in her ears in hope to drown it out. </p>
<p>It went on for what felt like forever to Max, and once it went quiet with a slam of the door, her mom knocked. She told her that they were getting a divorce, because well, she wasn’t good enough for him, and his career was so risky, and what in god’s name was up with their finances, what are you spending all this money on? I’ll never find my soulmate with you! You’re so abusive! And on and on. </p>
<p>They moved for a couple years then, moving from place to place, her mom struggling to juggle a job that could support them both. </p>
<p>Then she met them. Her now step-dad and Billy. Max really didn’t know what her mom saw in him that ever motivated her to marry him. She thinks she was just desperate. They definitely weren’t soulmates, that’s for sure. He was more reliable, but just as abusive as her real dad. God, why can’t she have picked better? </p>
<p>Billy was an asshole. God, she hated him so much. </p>
<p>And then, there was Hawkins.</p>
<p>They moved in one October she thought it would be hell, living in a small town, and it turned out to be worse than hell. Weird boys followed her around, and then the moment she decided to hang out with them, it turned out they were connected with some demon-level shit. Like, the entire town being infested with demon-dogs and giant, sentient alien hive minds possessing young children that can only be defeated by a minor with magic powers. Like, the fuck? </p>
<p>The fuck?? </p>
<p>Max had to be going batshit crazy. That was the only answer to what the heck had happened these past few months, and why the fuck kissing Lucas hadn’t felt nice at all. He was handsome and cool. There was no reason for her not to like him, besides him getting her involved in some crazy demon shit. </p>
<p>God, she really was worrying more about Lucas then whatever the heck had happened these past few months, huh? </p>
<p>She had seen it with her own eyes, though. Apparently, aliens from other dimensions were real. But her not liking kissing Lucas? Now that was weird. </p>
<p>The next time she saw Lucas, she sat down next to him with a thump, skateboard in her lap. “Hey, dude,” she offered, staring down at the griptape of her board intensely. They were at his house, because they were on Christmas break now. </p>
<p>“What’s up, Max!” Lucas said, sounding happy. “How you feeling?”</p>
<p>“Good. Definitely good, yeah, no problems here.” Max chewed on her lip. </p>
<p>Lucas immediately caught on, turning to face her. Max looked up to meet his eyes, stomach churning. “What’s up? Is it about… last night? At the Snowball?”</p>
<p>Heaving in a breath, Max nodded. “Um, yeah. I don’t know why - I swear, it has nothing to do with you! You’re super chill! But, like, I wasn’t super into the kiss yesterday.” </p>
<p>Lucas was quiet. “Oh.” </p>
<p>Max pulled her shoulders into herself. “Yeah…”<br/>
Max heard Lucas take in a breath beside her. “I don’t really feel the same way… but, yeah. It’s cool. It’s cool. We all experience stuff different.” </p>
<p>“Thank you,” Max said, looking at Lucas again. “I wanna understand why I didn’t like the kiss. But I think it’ll take time.” Lucas met her eyes, and nodded before looking down at his own lap again. </p>
<p>“Do you think… you’re, y’know…”</p>
<p>“Um!” Max exclaimed. </p>
<p>Lucas grinned a little at her, throwing her a sly look. “I mean, you’re from California! They’re hella progressive there. You really don’t know?” </p>
<p>The red haired girl shifted, flustered. “I’ve never really thought about those kind of things! My life has kinda sucked up til now, you know? Actually - fuck that, it still sucks, with demon dogs and shit, but at least I got good friends now.” Max took a deep breath. “I’ve heard about it. Nothing good, really. Some people are out and happy, but when you’re a preteen, everyone makes fun of everything. God, I made fun of it too, but that’s just because I made fun of anything to do with love.” She shook her head at herself, running a hand through her hair. “Preteens just suck, y’know?” </p>
<p>Lucas stared back at her and tsked. “Damn, I’ve gotten a lot of shit myself. Just because I’m black. Just people suck, man.” </p>
<p>Max and Lucas talked late into that evening that night, until Max got an angry phone call from Billy to “come home already before I come and drag you out of there myself”, which they both chose to laugh at. It didn’t stop Max from booking it home on her skateboard, though. </p>
<p>Billy yelled at her when she got home, but at least it wasn’t her step-dad yelling at her. She just shrugged it off, threw him the finger, and carefully did-not slam her door shut to avoid further arguments. </p>
<p>Max threw her skateboard down on the floor and kicked off her shoes, laying down in bed. She stared at the ceiling for hours, wondering.</p>
<p>What if she really was gay?</p>
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